A year ago we told the tale of George Maloof Jr., a casino mogul bachelor who resurrected sinful indulgence in Las Vegas with his sex-charged Palms Hotel & Casino. The Palms' Playboy-themed slot machines, "playpen" bachelor-party suites and poolside Skin lounge shunned the themed-resort trend of the 1990s and made Vegas cool to the twentysomething crowd. In addition to the Palms, the Maloof clan owns pro basketball's Sacramento Kings, a large stake in Wells Fargo and a Coors distributorship. The family is worth $1 billion, maybe more.

The Maloofs have seen plenty of action since our story ran. While other casinos merged (Harrah's agreed to a $9.4 billion union with Caesars in July), the Palms remained alone, offering generous player perks as rivals pulled back. In June they broke ground on a new luxury hotel tower at the Palms. It will feature clubs, restaurants and a recording studio. The Maloof brothers also established a television production company. The outfit is developing two reality programs; one focuses on the world's most exclusive parties. Outside Vegas Maloof is teaming with the Lytton Band of the Pomo Indian tribe to operate a new casino in San Pablo, Calif., outside San Francisco.

Back at the Palms, Britney Spears partied at the hotel's Ghostbar before impulsively getting hitched to a friend, ever so fleetingly, in January. George Maloof helped her get the marriage annulled a day later. The publicity was priceless.

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